By Kwabe Victor
As the world, press freedom day is celebrated there is a tendency to forget the plights that journalists undergo in working their way to the truth.
Most nations have failed in offering the media independence it deserves through which the journalists can have their lives and safety secured.
There are several men and women in this line of work that seeks to air the truth, be a voice of the people, and ensure that democracy is indeed attained through liberty.
As Veronica Guerin who was a journalist covering the crime murdered on June 26, 1996, because of her discovery, to Norbert Zongo, a journalist murdered in Ouagadougou on December 13, 1998, for a truth that had to be concealed, UK journalist Lyra Mckee all the way to Jamal Khashoggi’s unsolved demise on 2, October 2018.
The death of Khashoggi unearthed the dangerous waters that journalists do swim in on the daily suffering bruises silently.
A murder was orchestrated within a Saudi Consulate in Istanbul with alleged links to the major government persons who have funds and manpower at their disposal.
The assassination of the Saudi dissident, journalist, columnist for the Washington Post, and former editor of Al-Watan signified that indeed the press has not attained freedom worldwide.
This should not only raise questions in the civilians’ minds but also in the security forces and global leaders as well for if there can’t be a media that voices truths about matters then there is no democracy after all.
Would this mean that the world is not democratic? Well in research it seems to appear that at least in every country there has been a journalist or more who have ended up dead or threatened for working on a course of achieving and sharing the truth.
An anti-riot police officer aims a teargas canister while journalists cover an anti-corruption protest in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. November 3, 2016. © 2016 REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya
Apparently, the truth is never against the people instead the truth is mostly stern to the systems and the set rules by people who at most times are with an aim of gratifying self-interests.
Is there a safe world for the truth? Since in eight out of ten murder cases these men and women risk everything for their job that is finding the truth go unsolved with nobody to pay for their sudden deaths.
It’s okay then to say that every week a journalist is killed because of their work with the killers often walking away scot-free.
This is indeed a demeanour for human rights, and life and the set laws is a puncture that many fail to cite nor seek to solve in ensuring there’s true freedom of the press.
There has been an evident elimination of journalists’ rights as they face intimidation for unearthing information mostly secret yet detrimental to humanity in one way or another, for example in the case of Assange renowned for WikiLeaks.
An increase in distrust of the local news coverage is also alarming as most media houses lack the freedom of being impartial due to shareholders and stakeholders who are so-called big names in terms of wealth, and government roles.
This has hindered the expression and addressing of issues that affect the major public, like poor sewerage systems that contaminate rivers from Real Estate and apartments some state financing, and other politicians who cling to the ideology of being untouchable by the law.
Media polarization also has become a key issue in press freedom as there is an increase in tension socially and politically, which has been accelerated by social media and new opinion media for example in France.
At the international level democracies are being weakened as a result of a rift growing between open societies and despotic regimes that are vividly and incessantly gaining control of the media and online platforms.
An issue that’s getting rampant as they keep waging wars against democracies with an example of the propaganda-born war of Ukraine.
Already 4 journalists have died since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Pierre Zakrzewski, Olexandra Kouvchinova, Brent Renaud, and Evgueni Sakoun have been killed for reporting on this war. Many others have been shot at, wound, and, disappeared…even though they were clearly identified as “Press.” Targeting a journalist is a war crime.
The polarization era evidenced by a set of backdrops of information chaos levels is constantly increasing tension around the world in different contexts that are; political context, economic context, legal framework, sociocultural context, and security.
Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot and killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank town of Jenin, May 11 2022. EPA-EFE/AL JAZEERA.
According to reporters without Borders, the situation in several countries is very bad led including Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
A Libyan Journalist, Ali Ralfouul who got kidnapped a month ago is still missing, and earlier today the death of Al Jazeera Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank Jenin after being shot by alleged Israeli forces.
In Kenya, a fortnight ago the NTV crew covering herders of Isinya confrontation with the area sub-county OCPD for alleged unfairness in dealing with insecurity matters affecting them were threatened.
“Isinya sub-county OCPD Ancent Kaloki attempts to draw a gun in an effort to confiscate NTV cameraman Stanley Ngotho’s camera when he was cornered by irate herders. The OCPD threatened to arrest journalists covering the event,” NTV captioned the video of the confrontation.
Also recalling that in 2021, the police made international headlines after firing tear gas canisters at DW’s journalist Mariel Muller as she covered a protest in Nairobi.
Therefore, a need for strengthening the Media Independence worldwide in to ensure liberty and justice is attained and the protection of the journalists is ensured. Reminding ourselves that the truth no matter how long covered shall one day unearth itself.
Truth shall set the world free.
